Karate kid aspires to shine

Lebo Mathapo recently made history in local karate circles when, at the age of 15, he was promoted to kata instructor at the Henri Eksteen Fight Club.
Lebo’s interest in karate started at the age of nine and at that point he mainly participated for the fun thereof. A few months into his fascination with the discipline, his grandparents told him that his father also did karate when his age. This motivated him to work even harder.
At the age of 13 he received the award for the Best Overall Karateka in the club which, according to him, was a big honour, and with continued hard work he again received the award at 15.
Lebo explained that achieving Best Overall Karateka status was the second hardest accolade to achieve, especially that 100% attendance was required and the club never closes for a break.
Eksteen said he had no doubt when promoting Lebo to kata instructor as, according to him the youngster is a fantastic instructor with a high level of attention for detail, especially when it comes to technique.
Lebo explained that karate is a sport that builds confidence and self-respect. He illustrated this by relating how he used to have a fear of speaking in front of a group of people and how Eksteen had realised his problem and helped him overcome it by making him an instructor.
“One thing that pushes me to do better is the fact that my family and Sensei have very high expectations of me. They continuously push me to do better and motivate me when I have a bad day by telling me I am better than I think I am and that giving up is not an option,” he said.
Lebo was born in Polokwane in 2002 and completed his primary education at Christian Achievers Academy where he was the Head Boy in 2015. In 2016 he started his high school career at Mitchell House School.
Lebo lives for karate. “Other kids my age see themselves singing and performing when they are older, but I only see myself fighting on the mat for the rest of my life,” he confirmed his dedication to the sport.
He also stated that he would like to become a businessperson but that karate would definitely always be his first love. With regards to the future, Lebo aims to reach the top in the country and achieve a 100% grading during his karate trials.
Lebo said he doesn’t have any special rituals before going into a fight but he does listen to The Script featuring Will-I-Am’s Hall of Fame, which gets him hyped up because the lyrics encourage him to perform better.
Lebo wants to encourage the youth to join a karate club as the sport builds character and self-confidence and enables one to perfect yourself as an individual.
He concluded that by taking the sport seriously and persevering he knows that he will achieve great heights.

Story and photo: THINUS DU TOIT
>>thinus@observer.co.za